Facebook row: Court closes case against two girls

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Last Updated: Fri, Feb 01, 2013 09:46 hrs

Mumbai: A criminal case filed against two girls for posting a comment on Facebook on the bandh after the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray on November 17 last year has been closed after police dropped charges against them.

The Palghar sessions court on Thursday accepted the police closure report seeking dropping of charges against the two girls.

The Boisar police had filed a 'C' summary report in December to close the criminal case on the grounds that it was 'neither true nor false'.

However, complainant Shiv Sena member Bhushan Sankhe's counsel yesterday said they will challenge the order and file a criminal revision appeal before the Palghar sessions court.

The girls - Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Srinivasan, both 21 years of age, were arrested on November 19 last year after a complaint was filed against them by Sankhe, a member of Palghar unit of Shiv Sena.

Sankhe had taken offence at Dhada's post on social networking site Facebook regarding the shutdown following Bal Thackeray's death. Srinivasan had 'liked' the comment on Facebook.

The girls' subsequent arrest had sparked a nationwide outrage which embarrassed the Maharashtra government.

Following the uproar, two police officers were suspended in connection with the incident while the magistrate at Palghar, who ordered bail for the girls, was transferred.

Later, the police had concluded that there was no evidence against the girls.